In the Heart of a Wroshyr Tree
Temple -- Rwookrrorro City: Kashyyyk This is the Wroshyr Temple of Rwookrrorro City. It is here that the wookiees venerate the ancient Wroshyr tree and it's spirit. It is believed by many that this tree is a protector of the beings that live within its sacred branches. Wookiees of all ages come to the temple to offer their thanks and gifts to the tree and on Life Day this temple is filled with the sight of Wookiees wearing the red robes of the holiday. If there is a center of Kashyyyk the Wroshyr Temple is it and it remains open to anyone who wishes to take shelter in it's confines whether for spiritual reasons or just to enjoy the peace of the temple. The temple itself appears to have been built in the natural hollow of the Wroshyr tree. Carved statues adorn the edges of the large rough room and tables covered in offerings stand tall at the front of the cove. The walls left completely natural save a few beautiful paintings done using paint made from local plants and berries. Some of the paintings detail life on Kashyyyk while others are portraits of Wookiee heros or allies. Tall benches rest throughout the temple inviting visitors to rest their feet and gaze across the stunning hollow. It's peaceful here. Not in the way that a relaxing, unfettered soak in the sea is peaceful, but in the way of a whispering breeze, heavy with rain, between the waves of overhead tempests. A calm in the storm. A pretty picture. A place for pretend, where the outside perils are quieted and hidden in hind thoughts. A light sigh flutters the wings of an intruding insect, meandering along a crack in the altar table. Just one of many. Sitting back on her heels, Ambrosia tips her palm and lets the offerings land where they may amid the clutter of objects. There's a small cred chit, some threaded beads, a tiny snippet of hair. Then she just sits. Listening. Breathing. Feeling. Kashyyyk. It has been nearly half a decade since Ewan Dain last set foot on the jungle planet. The long trip from Corellia is relaxing and the more distance he puts between himself and the troubles of the core worlds, the lighter the Corellian's mood has become. Long overdue for a vacation he settles the Ace of Sabres down at the forested starport and disembarks. The mugginess of the jungle planet warms his lungs as he takes a deep breath. After only a few exchanges with a duo of wookiee officials he warmly pats each one on the arm, hikes his well worn pack further up his back, and heads deeper into Rwookrrorro branches. For now, a vacation would have to wait. Today was business, but maybe a little bit of R&R, too. After his meeting with Ambrosia he planned on making the most of his stay on the Wookiee planet, and that meant a couple weeks amongst the beasts and birds of the arboreal city. Ewan Dain, could not wait. He makes his way towards the sacred temple in hopes he might catch up with his NR contact there. He moves into the temple and spots the ambassador. He quietly takes off his pack and sets it aside. Dain quietly makes his way over and sits just beside her. "I imagine you need to clear your head out here more than I do." Argon walks about the temple in one of his duty uniforms. He has already gotten used to being on solid ground again after a few days in space, but his wandering about the city during his free time has caught his attention. The short officer notices the only familiar face he has seen all day that was not part of his crew and approaches, though he does not know the man with the ambassador. As Argon gets close enough he gives a nod, "Ambassador," and to Ewan, "Sir. I hope that I am not interrupting?" Ambrosia's frame remains slouched where it is, her eyes tracking the ponderous movements of a tiny bug with the dulled gaze of one who's not really /seeing/ what she's watching. In her thoughts, she's seeing the creature through the eyes of another - mischevious and bright. Gabi would have indeed flourished here. Perhaps she was wrong in excluding her daughter from this leg of her diplomatic tour. Flourished, or plummeted to her gruesome death whilst attempting to use her grav boots thousands of feet up upturned limbs....yes, Liora had sent her a forewarning about the early birthday present. Both girls were perhaps in need of throttling. The bug plods on, passing through a fallen shadow of one who's come to sit beside. Oh. Shit. Blinking, the ambassador jerks her head to the right and flicks a glance up and down the owner of this scarcely familiar voice. Oh! Shit! Blinking again, she looks to her chronometer, then glances aside at Argon and the lurking forms of her personal security - way back there in the doorway..."Mr. Dain," She identifies, not too unfriendly a greeting, while her senses of decorum collect themselves. A hesitant smile finds it way to the surface. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. I, no, Lt Commander, it's fine." A dip of her brow as she looks to Ewan for clarification. "It /is/ fine?" Dain nods and laughs. "Any friend of the ambassador's is a friend of mine. I'm Ewan." Dain stands at Argon's approach and offers a hand in friendship, but one that can be quickly turned into a salute should the soldier prefer military protocol. It's been a long time since Dain spent any time with someone from the Republic Military. A few officers were some of Dain's best card buddies back when he played cards. "I didn't mean to alarm you Ambassador. Very happy to catch you here. I think we've met before but I can't recall precisely when." In truth he can't recall if he ever had. Argon nods to Ambrosia and takes Dain's hand, "Lieutenant Commander Brand." His face is only mildly stony, the presence of the ambassador's security detail was a bit disarming, and the short officer would not really be of any use here himself, the joy of FleetOps uniforms not having a holster. The Corellian then says, "And you are?" to Dain. "Most recently, I believe a holographic rendering of ourselves encountered the other, but before that..." Delgard purses her lips with a little shrug and watches the exchange from over her shoulder. The toes of her boots grind into the slick, uneven wood floor as she shifts her weight and rubs at a knee. "I honestly cannot recall. Mayhap Caspar. A very long time ago." Her voice drops to a barely audible level and she turns her face away in idle examination of a nearby statue. "A lifetime ago." Both in figurative and literal sense, if medical record was to be believed. Dain smiles and shakes the Lt. Commander's hand firmly but not rudely. "Ewan Dain, good to meet you sir. I appreciate everything you guys do for us out there." Dain had always admired the soldiers of the New Republic. As a former NRI Director he saw first hand the bravery and sacrifice the men and women of the military made on a daily basis. "Ambrosia and I have been likes ships in the night. Mostly communicating through holo messages. This meeting has been a long time coming." Dain sits back down and opens his hand, offering a seat on the floor to Argon, too. "The troubles on Kashyyyk have alarmed me. This planet and it's people are like a second home to me. When I heard about the disappearances... I'd be happy to help in anyway I can." The information of how the two know each other is soaked in by Argon. He then nods, "I see." To Dain, he nods, "Very well, it has been a little while since I was last here, and it was in an official capacity so I cannot say that I have teh strongest ties, here." He takes the offered seat, trying not to appear awkward in sitting down, and fails spectacularly; having to stand again and reattempt sitting to even get comfortable. "But yes, I intend on doing what I can to help deal with this issue." If Ambrosia notices Argon's difficulties 'relaxing', she does a good job pretending not to. It's just the polite thing to do, of course. As for her, well...her choice in garb is plenty comfortable and stretchy in all the right places! "Intelligence agents are networking through the branches of these trees as we speak," the woman informs, probably for Dain's benefit more than the Naval commander already in-the-know. Her left leg twitches, mirrored by a twitch of her left eye and nostril. A flinch? Boots creak some more and she leans her weight onto her right leg before rising with mechanical grace. "Some of them are making a second survey of the famed 'shadowlands...'" she pauses to heed the prickling of her nape and imagines the disapproval of the unseeing, wooden glares from surrounding statues. "I'll be receiving a preliminary report, to bring with me back to New Alderaan and share with the Jedi Affairs officer. Or simply deliver to Master Skywalker myself, if he's about." A soft smile on that note and she flexes her left leg. Dain pretends not to notice as Argon struggles with the more casual seating arrangements of the Wookiee temple. He looks at Argon and then Ambrosia in turn and smiles. "Seems like we have quite the secret society here. A Lt. Commander, an Ambassador and a Dain." Those seemed like pretty good odds in favor of the missing Wookiees. "I am more than happy to put together a team to go out and find out where our friends are disappearing to." Dain was in fact getting tired of life as the CEO of Starlight and was pleased to know he might be of use in some other way to the New Republic, but more importantly, to the Wookiees he thought of as extended family. "I am really glad to hear that. It is unbelievable how much the people of this planet have suffered over the years. It sickens me, it really does. I am thinking of putting together a team of civilians, kind of like the Corellian Royal Legion were, to go and hunt these criminals down." Dain leans back on his hands and ponders the altar in front of him for a moment. "I've got a few contacts in the wind myself right now." "As I would expect from your associates." Argon nods to Ambrosia and shrugs at the mention of the secret society, "I am not sure what aid I can currently provide in this endeavor save by my presence temporarily discouraging people from trying to move stuff too openly." Argon frowns, "Let alone the fact I am due to my duty post in a few days, but I will do what I can certainly." The mention of the Corellian Royal Legion gets a smirk from Argon, "Or just have the equivalent of a CorSec deal with it. They seem to do a pretty good job back home." Dain says, "On a side note the cafe is kicking me out around 9:00 but I will be back" "Pursuing those responsible from multiple angles could have its benefits...they fully expect our response, of course. But a civilian-based operation, well..." Ambrosia frowns thoughtfully and stiffly lowers her foot to the floor. Allegedly her implants were an upgrade, installed with Imperial-grade technology, no less. But truthfully, the fleshy bits on either end of the replacement aren't much convinced. "For obvious reasons, the Republic will be very choosy with whom we share intelligence. We have leads, they need following. A clan that needs infiltrating. Allow me to caution you, Mr. Dain, that if you intend to do more than document the abhorent acts against civility that've transpired here, you ought to consult with Republic Intelligence, first." A pause as she contemplates precisely how one leaves this spiritual place. A bow? A kiss to something? Hastily, she dips her chin at the mound of offerings, then backsteps a few feet. This peaceful place is becoming less peaceful - dark implications of what they discuss polluting the spiritual atmosphere and whatnot. Or maybe she's just imagining it so. "I imagine you still have contacts within the department. If not, I can arrange a meeting." The tall Corellian listens to Ambrosia's words and nods thoughtfully. She was right. There was no reason for anyone to work with Dain and a band of Corellian militia. If he wanted to make a difference he had to come at the issue with a different tactic. Dain is silent for a moment before continuing. "You're right. My idea might not be the best way to go about this. I do have contacts in intel but I think a meeting set up by you would hold more sway." Dain isn't sure what he would say in such a meeting. It has been years since he'd set foot in NRI Headqurters, perhaps he should look into re-establishing himself in the organization. He certainly had the experience, but would NRI warm up to the idea? "If you'd be so kind as to set up a meet, I would be thankful." "Sensible to be safe with the information, no sense sharing it with those who would do us harm. Besides, a secret's utility lies in it being unknown." Argon says, crossing his arms, "Probably would be wise to let Fleet Intel know as well, especially if we happen to be in the area, slavers seldom go around unarmed or on harmless freighters. Though I do hope that our services will not be needed." "The Intelligence division spans all branches of our military force, Lt Commander," Ambrosia quietly reassures, keeping her voice low but well-carried in this hallowed place. "I am certain that Fleet will be kept appropriately in-the-know." She lifts her uncaged, right hand to bat a wayward wisp of hair out of her eyes. Or maybe it was a fly. Hard to tell, in this jungle for giants. "I'll leave you gentlemen to your prayers, while I see what I can do about buying a moment of Intel's time. I believe they've a little liason wandering about somewhere nearby...probably hasn't strayed far from the can." A tiny, irreverent smile puts some fire back into the ambassador's eyes as she wags a finger of warning. "Careful with the local fruits...particularly when green." And on that note, she's gone, security details enfolding around behind her as she tucks out into the torchlit dusk beyond. Night falls early, this low in the canopy. Dain smiles and shakes the Lt. Commander's hand firmly but not rudely. "Ewan Dain\, good to meet you sir. I appreciate everything you guys do for us out there." Dain had always admired the soldiers of the New Republic. As a former NRI Director he saw first hand the bravery and sacrifice the men and women of the military made on a daily basis. "Ambrosia and I have been likes ships in the night. Mostly communicating through holo messages. This meeting has been a long time coming." Dain sits back down and opens his hand\, offering a seat on the floor to Argon\, too. "The troubles on Kashyyyk have alarmed me. This planet and it's people are like a second home to me. When I heard about the disappearances... I'd be happy to help in anyway I can."